ODE News Assessment Development

Teachers Needed: ELPA Content Panel

Wed, 3 Apr 2013 20:32:00 GMT

ODE is recruiting new members for the English Language Proficiency Assessment Content Panel. This advisory panel will review items to be field tested in 2013-14 and also calibrate items that were field tested this year. ODE is looking for experienced ELD teachers and specialists who are familiar with Oregon's English Language Proficiency Standards and the ELPA testing environment. ELD teachers from all regions of Oregon are encouraged to apply.

The first meeting of the 2013-14 ELPA content panel will be on June 19, 20, and 21, in Salem. There is a possibility of additional work days on June 24 through June 28. Generally, content panel members can expect to meet 6 to 9 days during the school year. Appointments to the ELPA panel generally have a duration of 3 school years.

Interested teachers need to fill out the ELPA Content and Assessment Panel Application under the ELPA Content Panel subheading at: www.smarterbalanced.org. Most testing times will range anywhere from 2 t ...MORE

Smarter Balanced Accessibility and Accommodation Guidelines

Wed, 23 Jan 2013 20:16:00 GMT

The Accessibility and Accommodation Guidelines for the Smarter Balanced Pilot Tests are now posted to the Smarter Balanced portal. They are under “Additional Resources” on the Resources and Documentation page:

http://sbac.portal.airast.org/Pilot_Test/resources.html?pilot#additional

Smarter Balanced Update on Assessment Report Design

Thu, 20 Dec 2012 00:06:00 GMT

The Oregon Department of Education would like to share the following update from Smarter Balanced regarding a progress update about the data reports that will be developed for the assessment.

Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium
WestEd - Project Management Partner
www.smarterbalanced.org

Dear Smarter Balanced K-12 State Leads:

We are excited to announce the posting of a Progress Update from the Smarter Balanced Assessment Reporting Work Group and Wireless Generation (Reporting Development contractor for Smarter Balanced).

The Progress Update serves as a brief introduction to the key concepts and methodology being used to drive the development of stakeholder-focused reporting of assessment results. In addition, the document provides preliminary findings about some of the reporting system's primary user groups and their priorities, as well as a sample us ...MORE

Smarter Balanced Pilot Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) Available

Wed, 19 Dec 2012 20:49:00 GMT

The Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium (Smarter) will administer a pilot of the Smarter assessments from February 20 - May 10, 2013. As the start of the Pilot approaches, many districts from across the consortium have submitted questions to Smarter. To help address these questions, Smarter has developed a Frequently Asked Questions document .

As Smarter continues to develop training materials and other resources to help districts prepare for the Pilot, ODE will provide additional information to the field. Please continue to submit any questions your district may have about the Pilot to SmarterBalancedHelpDesk@air.org .

Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium Mathematics Webinar Recordings Available

Wed, 12 Dec 2012 22:57:00 GMT

On September 7 and November 15, Student Achievement Partners’ Jason Zimba and Smarter Balanced Director of Mathematics Shelbi Cole presented an informational webinar about the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics (CCSSM) to the Consortium. The September 7 webinar provided a deeper understanding of the standards with a focus on Smarter Balanced and its development of assessments aligned to the CCSSM, and provided an overview of the CCSSM's implications for assessment, including criteria for evaluating CCSS-aligned items and tasks. The November 15 webinar focused on identifying three shifts called for by the standards in assessment items through analysis of examples and non-examples. The webinar recordings are available at http://www.smarterbalanced.org/resources-events/webinars/.

Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium Conducts Cognitive Lab Sessions with Students

Wed, 12 Dec 2012 22:14:00 GMT

Smarter Balanced is working its way through 945 cognitive-lab sessions in about a dozen states nationwide (including Oregon). As part of SBAC’s item-development contract with the test-vendor CTB/McGraw-Hill, experts from the American Institutes for Research (AIR) are looking for individual student feedback on sample test items. Many of the questions at the heart of the Smarter Balanced cognitive labs focus on the interaction of students with technology (desktop computer vs. tablets), since the group’s tests will be computer-based and computer-adaptive. “We want to make significant changes in the way assessment items look, and we don’t want to make those changes without actually seeing how items function when they’re put in front of kids,” said Shelbi Cole, SBAC’s director of math. “This helps us know earlier in the process so we don’t develop a bunch of items that don’t measure the new standards (CCSS) the way we want.” The full article is available at: http://www.smarterbalanced.org/achievement-level-descriptors-and-college-readiness/. Feedback on the documents can also be submitted through an online survey at the same web page site.

Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium Pilot Test Participation

Mon, 26 Nov 2012 16:57:00 GMT

In spring 2013, the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium (Smarter) will conduct a pilot of the Smarter mathematics and English language arts assessments with students in grades 3 - 11. The attached flyer contains an overview of the pilot and information about the testing window. Within the coming days, the Oregon Department of Education (ODE) will be in contact with Oregon schools selected to participate in the scientific sample of the pilot. Schools that are not recruited for this scientific sample may still volunteer to participate in the pilot using non-secure test items.

To ensure that all Oregon schools understand the purpose and process for the Smarter pilot, ODE encourages you to forward the attached flyer to district and school personnel to inform them of what to expect regarding the pilot and to encourage schools to volunteer to par ...MORE

Request for Proposals for Oregon's 2014-15 Assessment System Now Posted

Thu, 8 Nov 2012 20:09:00 GMT

The Oregon Department of Education (ODE)'s current contract for the delivery of the OAKS and ELPA assessments expires at the close of the 2013-14 school year. On Monday, November 5, 2012 ODE posted a request for proposals to the Oregon Procurement Information Network (ORPIN) soliciting proposals from vendors experienced in web-based student assessment test delivery, scoring methodology, and related services to provide a web-based testing system. This solicitation will determine the test vendor who will host Oregon’s assessments in science, social sciences, and English language development starting in the 2014-15 school year. It is also Oregon’s intent that the resulting testing system will be compatible with the specifications of the Smarter common assessment for mathematics and English language arts/literacy.

Interested vendors may find additional information about this request for proposals through ORPIN (http://orpin.oregon.gov/open ...MORE